2.1. BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS IN CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Biological materials have been incorporated into numerous consumer products for numerous purposes. For instance, biopolymeric materials, such as polysaccharides, proteins and nucleic acids have been added to products as diverse as paints, foods, skin creams and cleaning agents in which they serve such diverse functions as thickeners, suspending agents, moisturizers and conditioners. Certain specific biological materials have been incorporated into skin and hair care products for human use.
For example, chemically-modified glycolipids, specifically hydroxypropyl-etherified sophorolipid esters, have been used in cosmetic compositions for skin and hair care. The sophorolipids used as starting materials are the products of a yeast, Torulopsis bombicola. The chemically-modified sophorolipids improve the setting capacity of hair setting lotions and hair sprays and influence the lathering characteristics of shampoos. Hair washed with sophorolipid-containing shampoos retains a moist finishing touch. These various effects are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,297,340 and 4,318,901. The same chemically-modified sophorolipids can serve as moisturizing, conditioning and protective agents in skin creams and lotions [U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,297,340; 4,305,961 and 4,309,447], in stick-shaped cosmetics, such as lipsticks and eyeshadows [U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,929], and in pressed powder cosmetics [U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,931].
A microbial biopolymer produced by Bacillus polymyxa has been proposed as a useful ingredient in certain cosmetics and shampoos [U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,329,448; 4,357,423 and 4,393,089]. This biopolymer is a heteropolysaccharide comprising glucose, galactose, mannose, glucuronic acid and fucose. In the foregoing patents it is suggested that such biopolymer can be used in anti-dandruff shampoos as a suspending agent for anti-dandruff ingredients, in other shampoos and shower washes as a gelling agent, and in hand creams as an emulsion stabilizer.
A beer concentrate comprising a mixture of proteins and polysaccharides has been used as an ingredient in shampoos. The beer concentrate acts as a conditioner and also imparts body to hair shampooed with the formulations disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,761. The use of mono-, di- and polysaccharides in shampoos has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,837. It is reported that the presence of saccharides in shampoos stabilizes the shampoos and also enhances foam quality. The saccharides thicken the shampoo and act as suspending agents for grooming ingredients in the shampoo. Preferred saccharides were reported to be corn and potato syrups containing glucose and di- and polysaccharides of glucose.